Knitting machine



5 4 h L n f/YYENTWZES' f \3 EMERJ'EZAI/Ysm \i- "5 JRTfllLP/YEZWHZ April 1940- R. H. LAwsdN ET AL ,198,626

KNITTING MACHINE Filed llay 28. 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 April 30, 1940.

R. LAWSON El AL 2,198,626

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1956 s Sheets-Shet 2 3 jrry.

April 1940- R. H. LAWSON ET AL 2,198,626

KNITTING MACHINE Filed May 28. 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 JYVEA/TJRS: ROBRTHL4WSWM flRZHZL PAZ' (Ml/12228 3 y 6/ 01 WW Patented Apr. 30, 1940 umrs STATE KNITTING MA Massachusetts Application May 28, 1936, Serial No. 82,282

13 Claims.

This case involves a method and mechanism for knitting rib fabric and in continuation thereof plain fabric and for accomplishing the transfer from one to the other. The principles are applied. with respect to knitting the rib first, thereafter transferring and knitting plain fabric in continuation of the rib, but the invention is not so limited since it may be applied in the reverse order by knitting plain, transferring to rib and then knitting rib in continuation of the plain. The transfer is accomplished by means of special instruments which function in conjunction with the needles but have no effect during the knitting, the needles being of the usual latch type and knitting rib fabric which is in every respect comparable to that knitted on the regular rib machine. The machine has been especially arranged with a dial offset with respect to the cylinder for the purpose of rendering operation more certain and for allowing greater inaccuracies in the working of some of the elements without affecting the transfer operation. It is not essential that this ofiset be permanent since the parts may be moved with respect to one another at the time of transfer, although as a practical matter the offset will be made permanent and by special arrangement of elements, this will be found to have no effect on the knitting operation. It is also contemplated to accomplish the same result by a relative shogging of one needle carrier with respect to the other and the same is to be covered in this case.

The principles of the invention are illustrated with respect to a hosiery machine with rotary cylinder and dial but the invention may be applied to stationary cylinder machines with equal- 1y satisfactory results, and it is also quite possible to employ the invention with needles other than latch needles such as spring beard or sliding latch needles. In the event spring beard needles are to be employed suitable pressers will be provided, and if sliding latch needles are to be used, the sliding latches may serve the double function of acting as a needle latch and also of performing the transfer operation.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan of the dial cap showing levers for controlling the dial cams;

Fig. 2 is a section of the dial and part of the cylinder, this section being taken on line 2-2, Fig.

Fig. 3 is a plan of part of the dial cap showing cams removed and also illustrating a special instrumentality for holding long butt needles in position;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the dial, dial cap and part of the cam operating mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a plan showing cams for actuating dial needles and transfer members during knitting and also during the transfer operation;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6, Fig. 5; I

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 7-4, Fig. 5;

Figs. 8 and 9 are an elevation and plan, respectively, of a dial needle and a transfer element shown as the stitch has been taken from the needle by the element;

Figs. 10 and 11 are corresponding views showing the stitch retained by the transfer element after the needle has been withdrawn into the dial;

Figs. 12 and 13 are corresponding iews showing the cylinder needle as it has been projected up through the stitch and between the points of the transfer element;

Figs. 14 and 15 are similar views showing the mechanism after transfer and wherein the needle and transfer element have been withdrawn into the dial; and v Fig. 16 is a sectional view of a transfer element showing the cylinder needle engaging the said element after the cylinder needle has been displaced relatively to the dial needle for the purpose of facilitating the transfer;

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic view showing a cam for raising cylinder needles at transfer and. showing a few cylinder needles being controlled by that cam.

In the making of hosiery such as men's halfhose the common construction involves a rib top in continuation of which a leg and foot are knitted of plain fabric, that is, on cylinder needles in contrast to the top knitted on cylinder and dial needles or any other common mechanism for knitting the rib fabric. Although it has long been desired to knit the top on the same machine which knits the remainder of the stocking, such a practice has been found very dimcult of accomplishment, involving a very intricate mechanism which would necessarily be costly and which has had the disadvantage of requiring very fine adjustments for making perfect transfers and which has not alwaysknitted rib fabric which would compare to that knitted on the conventional rib knitting machine. It is the purpose of this invention to construct a relatively simple knitting machine which will require very little if any more attention than ordinary half hose machines and which will be capable of etfecting transfers which are consistently perfect or as nearly so as might be expected. It is a further object to accomplish these results without in any way detracting from the quality of either the rib top or the plain portions of the stocking.

Referring to Figs. 1-4, certain parts of the machine have been shown including a cylinder l, dial 2, cylinder-needles 3 and dial needles 4. These cylinder and dial needles are of the latch type, although they may be of other types as previously mentioned. The dial is secured for rotation to a dial spindle 5 which in this particular illustration has been shown offset to the right and slightly to the rear of the center line of the cylinder as shown at x. The purpose of this eccentricity will be more 'fully described with respect to the operation of the device. a dial cam cap including a frame 6, bushings I and the necessary cams rests upon the dial and is maintained stationary. The dial cap also includes movable cams 8 and 9 attached to a plate III at one side, these cams functioning on needles 4 and transfer implements H at the dial knitting point. Anotherplate l2 has cams i3 and i 4 attached thereto at approximately the opposite side of the dial for controlling the needles and transfer implements during the transfer. Either of these plates II) or i2 will be automatically controlled during the knitting to move its came into and from active position at the proper points in the knitting cycle. The frame 6 has cams l5 and I6 attached at the outer edge and beneath it to restrain the transfer instruments and to guide them within the dial after being projected out,

The frame 6 has been cut out as shown in Fig.

3 and it is within these out spaces that the cams project for actuating the needles and transfer instruments as described, the dial needles and the transfer implements slide within slots in the dial 2 as is the common practice with dial needles, and it is a further feature of this particular construction that the dial needles are a little thinner than would normally be employed with a machine of the specific gauge as determined by the cylinder needles so that these dial needles may be confined between the two sides of the transfer instrument. The transfer instrument as illustrated inFigs. 8-15 has been constructed of a single piece of flat material bent in U-shape to form the sides I! and it between which the needle will be freely and slidably restrained. These sides I! and I 8 have a butt l9 projecting upwardly therefrom which is preferably formed from each side of the instrument and will be filled in by a rectangular piece soldered or spot welded therebetween for proper spacing of the two parts of the instrument and also for the purpose of reinforcing the butt and constituting it as a single unitary projection. Each of these instruments is formed with a nib or point at the front. one on either side, and a. shoulder 2| directly behind this point. The instrument is further flared out as shown at 22, Fig; 15; directly behind the shoulder so that the cylinder needle may enter between the points more easily at the transfer. These nibs 2!! spring together so that they contact when the dial needle is withdrawn from between them and also to assure that they scrape the side of the dial needle when removing a loop therefrom. From an inspectionpf Fig. 8

it can be seen that the latch 23 of the needle 4 has its wide part resting on the point of the nibs 29; this assures that when the loop passes back over. the latch and on to these nibs it will be spread wide enough to pass under the nibs easily and thus avoid any splitting of yarn by one of the nibs.

A further and distinct feature of this transfer instrument is shown in Figs. 8 and 16 wherein it may be seen that one side i8 of each instru ment is cut away as shown at 24 while the other side projects downwardly at 25 and extends nearly to theforward portion of the shoulder 21.

This cut out portion 24 allows the cylinder needles 3 to be brought up to such a position as illustrated in Figs. 10 and 16, whereupon the gaining of the cylinder with respect to the dial will move each cylinder needle over against the side 25 of the respective transfer instrument to assure that the said cylinder needles will always engage their transfer instruments and will project up through the openings therebetween. This will be more fully described with respect to the operation of the machine.

The dial needles and transfer points have been provided with long and short butts as is the usual practice with such dial needles, this allowing the usual practice of inserting cams on top of the short butts first whereupon they will move down,

to full extent when the long -butts are engaged. I

While it is not essential that any particular mem-,

'ber of long and short butts be used, it is preferable that about an even division of both lengths of butts be employed. There will be a definite restraining action of the cams 8, 9, l3 and I4 on the shanks of dial needles and transfer implements when these cams have been projected downwardly on to the short butts and also when they have been projected down 'on to the shanks themselves. needles and implements whenever they are not guided by the bushing 7. However, there will be times when these cams will be out of contact with any butts and other times when they will contact short butts and not long butts. For this reason. a guiding element 26 having lobes 21 and 28 is attached by means of suitable screws to the under side of frame 6, this element being so shaped This will prevent tilting of the g close the latches as the-needles are withdrawn into the dial preparatory to knitting the plain part of a stocking. A brush or any other suitable latch opener willbe used to open these latches when it again becomesv necessary to use the dial needles.

The frame 6 has a U-shaped bracket 3| attached by suitable connecting means thereto andeach of the upstanding arms 32 and 33 on this bracket has pivotally mounted thereon a lever 34 and 35 respectively. The lever 34 connects by means of a link 35' to an angular connection 36 fixed to the plate l0. Movements of lever 34 will control the position of the cams 8 and 3 attached to said plate. The plate III has a pair of sleeves 31 and 31' either threaded or driven into suitable holes therein and these sleeves engage about screws 38 and 39 which arethreaded into the frame 6 to very accurately position the plate and its cams and also to allow vertical movement of the same. Each of the screws 38 and 39 is slightly longer than the sleeve which engages about it, so that springs 40 and 4| engage beneath the heads of the screws, or a washer under the head, and the top of the plate and serve to force the cams down into position for engaging the butts except at such times as they are withdrawn against the resilience of the springs by pattern controlled mechanism functioning on lever 34, such mechanism not being shown in this case since it will be more or less conventional in nature. Whenever allowed to drop into position, the springs 40 and ti would force the cams down on to the tops of needle and transfer instrument butts, preferably the short butts thereof, and from that position down on to the shanks just as soon as the long butts are engaged.

A similar link 52 is attached at the inner end of lever 35 and to a connecting piece 63 fixed to plate l2. Plate i2 is maintained in position by sleeves, springs, etc., similar to those employed with plate it and which are not shown and will not be described since the same will be easily understood from a description of one set only. Lever 35 functions to control cams I 3 and M at the transfer point as will be explained later.

Referring to Fig. 5, needles and transfer instruments are shown at the right hand side of the figure being controlled by cams 3 and 9 for cooperating with cylinder needles in knitting rib fabric. It is to be understood that there are twice as many cylinder needles as dial needles but that during the knitting of rib fabric, only alternate ones of these cylinder needles will be employed with the dial needles, the other cylinder needles being maintained out of action in such a manner that they will pass beneath or through the knitting cams without being raised to yarn taking or knitting position. Cams 8 and 9 define a pathway through which the butts 4d of the needles pass and whereby they are caused to cooperate with alternate cylinder needles to knit rib fabric in a conventional manner which need not be described in this case. Another pathway is defined by the cams 9 and i5 within which the butts IQ of transfer implements are guided and whereby the said implements will be moved out for a slight extent and will then be drawn into the dial. It would not be necessary nor desirable to disturb the transfer instruments at this point except that the movement of the needle butts is of such an extent that it is necessary to impart a slight wave to these implements which does not really cause any difliculty or affect the knitting in any Way.

The dial has been offset very slightly as shown -in Fig. 2, this ofiset being away from the knitting point so that no effect on the spacing of needles is evidenced at the knitting point. The offset is insufficient to cause any real difficulty if otherwise directed, except possibly on extremely fine gauge machines, but the construction of the parts and the location of the knitting point with respect to the transfer point assures that practically standard conditions are availed of and that the rib fabric knitted will in every respect compare to fabric knitted on the usual rib top machines and which would normally be transferred to a hosiery machine adapted to knit the plain part of the stocking only.

The Fig. 5 has been drawn to show the positionof cams and the action of needles and transfer 3 instruments in both knitting and at the transfer. At no time would the knitting cams and the transfer cams be in position as shown and thus this figure really illustrates two different phases of the knitting to avoid an entirely separate figure. When knitting as shown at the right of the figure the cams l3 and i4 would be raised so that they would not have any effect on needles or transfer points. After the knitting of a suitable length of fabric for a rib top, cams 8 and 9 would be withdrawn as will the corresponding cams functioning upon cylinder needles, the

needles in both cylinder and dial then holding their stitches but neither drawing yarn nor casting oil. It will be necessary to rotate the ma- .chine for about a revolution anda half before bringing the cams I3 and I4 in for transfen'that is, before the cam will effectively move needles for transfer. It is to be understood that suitable cams function on cylinder needles during the transfer. In Fig. 17 a transfer cam l3 movable to and from an active position, engages butts on jacks 3' beneath those cylinder needles which are to rise and take loops from dial needles.

These jacks 3' are of conventional construction and the cam l3 may be controlled from. pattern means on the machine in any known manner. This cam is effective to raise needles at the transfer so that hooks of said needles which are to take loops from dial needleswill'be properly con trolled to contact the out out portion 24 on the transfer instrument, then will be moved up against the other side of the instrument as at 25. The cams i3 and M are to be brought down on short butts and will then move down to full depth as soon as they have contacted a suflicient number of long butts.

The first part of cam M functions to gradually project the transfer instruments outwardly until they have reached a position outside the dial but not quite out to their fullest extent. At this same time cam i3 is projecting dial needles out until they have attained about the same relative position with respect to their companion instruments as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. In this position the loops which were last drawn by the dial needles will have cleared the latches 23 and will be held on the nibs of the instrument being retained by shoulders 2 i. The flared parts of the instrument will tend to spread the loop so that the cylinder needle may come up through it at the proper time.

After loops have been taken as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 the dial needles will be withdrawn rather gradually while the transfer instruments will be moved outwardly for a slight extent until about the point at which section 'i is taken wherein those cylinder needles which are to take the dial loops will be beneath the flared openings. It is at this time that the cylinder needles will be moved up until their hooks pass the lower level of the transfer instrument but will clear the cut aw y portion 24. As the cylinder needles gain with respect to the dial needles due to the offset of the dial they will contact the side of the transfer instrument at 25 and will pass up through that opening or flared part without thedanger of missing said opening such as might occur if the parts .were not offset and if cylinder needles were merely moved upwardly at one motion. In actual practice the said cylinder needles may be moved up to theposition of Figs. 10 and 11 at a time when they lag behind dial needles so that still greater inaccuracies in alignment might be tolerated without danger of missing a loop at the transfer since after passing the neutral point which is about opposite the knitting point, these needles would have gained the amount they. lag behind dial needles before reaching that point and also would move ahead of dial needles until their hooks were engaged by the side of the transfer instrument as shown. No difiiculty will be experienced as those cylinder needles actually contact the side of the instrument and even if they are defiected'to some extent, in fact, that is actually what would happen in the average machine wherein it is not possible to align all needles and instruments perfectly especially where they are of quite fine gauge.

After the first movement of the needle to the point of Fig. 10 and after-it has been allowed to gain all that would be necessary, the cylinder needles will be projected up through the instruments and incidentally through the loops hanging thereon whereupon the transfer instruments will be withdrawn by the portion of cam l6 thus leaving the loops on the. cylinder needlesas shown in Fig. 14. From this point the remainder of the stocking may be knitted on all of the cylinder needles in the usual manner. The dial needles and the transfer instruments will be maintained in the dial out of the way and all of the cams:8, 9, i3 and It will be raised until the start of another rib top whereupon the operation will again be repeated. In Fig. 15 the dial needle and transfer instrument are shown in the position they would assume when withdrawn intothe dial.

The preferred form of the invention has been illustrated with the dial permanently offset with respect to the cylinder, however, it is not essential that these elements be permanently offset as suitable mechanism may be provided for moving the dial over to one side with respect to the center line of the cylinder on one of the idle courses just prior to transferring. It need be held in that eccentric position only long enough for all of the stitches to betransferred whereupon the same mechanism might-then return it to a position concentric with the cylinder.

Another method of operation which is contemplated is to maintain the dial concentric with the cylinder at all times and to shog it with respect thereto so that at the transfer, dial needles will be ahead of corresponding cylinder needles just before they are raised as described with re.- spect to Fig. 10 and then to force the dial to lose in its movement relative to the cylinder until the cylinder needles to which loops are to be transferred have attained the position of Figs. 13 and 16. For accomplishing this a ratchet mechanism might be employed such as is sometimes used on machines for shagging wrapping fingers, the motion being greatly diminished, or any of the other common mechanism which have been employed in shogging or moving wrapping heads or dials with respect to the cylinder functioning therewith may be employed.

In the Figs. 8-15 we have illustrated the cylinder needle coming up through the last loop knitted on the dial needle. This is a satisfactory method of operation but with certain gauges of machines and for certain other reasons it may be better to take one of the loops knitted just prior to.this last knitted stitch and the invention contemplates such a practice. By this we mean that the needle by which the transferred stitch is taken penetrates the second or some other stitch than that last knitted. An example of this sort of transfer is illustrated in Fig. 27 of the patent to Scott, 1,641,101.

While we have described the invention with instead of with the dial needles and stitches would be taken from alternate cylinder needles on to dial needles. Another form of the invention might employ transfer implements with both sets .of needles whereupon transferring from one to the other might be resorted to according to some pattern scheme for knitting combinations of rib and plain fabric such as are knitted on double ended needles or double cylinder machines.-

One particular form of transfer instrument has been shown but the said instrument may be altered in various ways without departing from the general intent of the inventors, for instance, the transfer instrument may be formed of two separate parts having separate butts or may be so constructed that they function at one side of each needle of beneath each needle. The points 20 may be arranged to pass within grooves or slots out within the sides of the needle rather than depending upon the width of the latch spoon for spreading the loop over them. The invention is defined inthe following claims.

.We claim:

1. A knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, having in combination two series of needles and a needle carrier for each series, the construction being such that one series of needles may be used for knitting plain therefrom and .to transfer them to some of the needles of the first series including transfer instruments bearing on either side of their respective needles and between the sides of which needles to which loops are to be transferred must be passed, one side of said instrument being cut away so that a needle may pass by the same without interference but will contact the other side of said instrument and means for causing needles which are to project between said instruments to lag behind and then to gain with respect to their particular transfer instruments.

2. A knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type,- having therein two sets of needles including cylinder and dial needles, a cylinder and dial for carrying said sets of needles, transfer instruments-functioning with said dial needles to hold loops removed therefrom so constructed that cylinder needles which are to receive loops held by said transfer instruments will pass between parts thereof and will incidentally enter a loop held thereon, each said transfer instrument'being constructed with one part thereof between which the cylinder needle is to pass lower than the other side and means for varying the relative position of said cylinder needles with respect to dial needles so that as the cylinder needles are brought up for transfer they will lag behind their respective transfer instruments and will thereafter gain and pass the center of said transfer instruments.

3. A knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, having therein a dial and a cylinder, a set of needles in the dial and another set of needles in the cylinder, means functioning in conjunction with said dial needles and transferring loops therefrom to cylinder needles including transfer instruments, one part of which is positioned at one side of a dial needle and the other part of which is positioned at the other side of said dial needle, means for passing a cylinder needle between the two parts of said transfer instrument and means for progressively varying the relative position of said needle with respect to said instrument so that the said needle will be positively forced to enter between the said two parts of the instrument whereby all loops may,

be transferred without failure.

4. A knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, having a cylinder and dial, a series of needles in the cylinder and another series of needles in the dial, means functioning with the dial needles for transferring loops from them to the cylinder needles when desired and means for causing said cylinder needles progressively to lag behind the cooperating dial needles before reaching a point at which transfer will be made but progressively to gain with re- .spect to said needles before effecting transfer.

5. A knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, having therein a cylinder and dial and sets of cooperating needles in both the cylinder and 'the dial, means for assisting in the transfer of loops from the dial needles to certain ones of the cylinder needles and other means including a support for the dial offset with respect to the axis of the needle cylinder for causing dial needles to gain with respect to cylinder needles and thereafter to lag behind cylinder needles as transfer is effected.

6. In a knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, the combination of a cylinder and a dial, cooperating sets of needles therein adapted to knit rib fabric, means acting in conjunction with dial needles for re-- moving loops therefrom and for transferring said loops to some of the cylinder needles, knitting cams at one side of the dial for causing needles to draw yarn and knit it into loops and cams at another part of the dial for functioning upon needles and instruments to effect transfer,'said dial being offset with respect to the cylinder in such a manner that dial needles are not displaced laterally with respect to cylinder needles at the knitting point but will be caused to gain on said cylinder needles and thereafter to lag with respect to said cylinder needles at the point of transfer.

7. A method of transferring loops knitted on one series of needles to another series of needles including the steps of taking loops from the first series of needles on to transfer instruments,

bringing cooperating needles in the other series up into a positionto engage a part of the transfer instrument but to one side of that instrument, then causing said needle to gain with respect to the instrument until it contacts the same and thereafter, projecting the needles up through the instrument and a loop held thereon and withdrawing the instrument to leave the loop hanging on the said needle.

8. A method of transferring from rib to plain fabric in circular knitting machines including the steps of manipulating loops on one set of needles in a manner to be taken by needles inthe other set, and so manipulating one set of needles with respect to the other that as they move to pene- I trate loops which are to be taken from the other set, they are first retarded and are thereafter caused to gain with respect. to the other set of needles.

9. A method of transferring loops from one set of needles to another set as in transferring from rib to plain fabric, including the steps of manipulating loops on one set of needles so as to extend them to be penetrated by needles which are to,

take them, and causing relative retarding of one set of needles with respect to the other and thereafter a progressive gaining of said needles with respect' to the other set whereby loops to be penetrated will bemore effectively engaged.

10. In a knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, the combination of a cylinder and dial, needles in the cylinder and in the dial, means for causing said needles to knit and other means for causingthem to pass through certain transfer movements, and means constructed and arranged to cause the dial to rotate on an axis slightly offset with respect to the axis of said cylinder whereby the dial needles,

will at certain positions run ahead of cooperating cylinder needles and will thereafter lag with respect to them.

11. In a knitting machine of the rotary needle 'bed, independent needle type, the combination of a cylinder and dial, needles in both the cylinder and the dial, means for causing said needles to pass through a stitch drawing wave and other means to cause said needles to follow pathways incidental to'transferring of loops from one set to the other, and means for causing needles in one group to lag behind respective needles in the other group and for thereafter progressively gaining on said needles until respective cooperatingneedles in the transfer are substantially in contact.

12. In a knitting machine of the rotary needle bed, independent needle type, the combination of a dial, a cylinder, dial needles and cylinder needles and earns for imparting a stitch forming Wave to said dial and cylinder needles, other cams for imparting transfer movements to the needles at a position substantially spaced about the needle circle from the position at which stitches are drawn, said dial being offset with,

' moved from that set and transferred to needles ROBERT H. Lawson. AR'I'HUR N. CLOUTIER. 

